And Then I'll Sleep | The Lion and The Unicorn Theatre

Lorenza (Lily Walker) feels sick every time she brushes her teeth, and this nausea is intrinsically linked to thoughts of her ex. Daffodil (Amelia Khalek) hates disclosing that she has PTSD because you’re instantly letting people know that something traumatic has happened to you. 

The latest offering from Working Girls Theatre Company, Tasmin Wickremeratne’s And Then I’ll Sleep, directed by Elsie Youngman, introduces its two main characters with these facts, instantly plunging the audience into their world and their trauma. 

The pair meet at a sexual assault survivors group, with the play moving between this group and scenes of Lorenza and Daffodil with ex-boyfriends Peter (Sam Bates) and Christopher (Filippo Brozzo) as Wickremeratne explores how PTSD can interfere with romantic relationships.

Lorenza is desperate to share her story with Peter, who is much more interested in making sexual advances. Daffodil, meanwhile, struggles to let Christopher in or to properly open herself up to a relationship. As the backstory of these two relationships unfolds, Lorenza and Daffodil also slowly find their way to friendship. 

There is a lot for both characters to unpack, and a lot packed into the 50-minute runtime, with the constant movement between past and present sometimes causing confusion and robbing scenes of their emotional impact. Allowing the stories to unfold at a slightly slower pace would help here, as would some additional exposition early on. 

Both Walker and Khalek give strong performances in their respective roles, in the challenging monologue scenes which provide glimpses into their inner thoughts and in their scenes as a duo. Walker perfectly captures Lorenza’s almost frantic intensity, while Khalek does an excellent job with the more walled-off Daffodil, who gradually warms to Lorenza as the piece progresses. 

Bates is smarmily dislikeable as Peter, while Brozzo’s Christopher feels more inconsistent, although this may be more due to a lack of stage time for character development than anything else. The cast is rounded out by Nadine Chui as April and Phoebe Ralph as Mari, although they appear mostly as silent observers in the group therapy scenes and are given little to sink their teeth into. 

With a strong premise and some powerful writing, And Then I’ll Sleep needs a little breathing space to truly shine.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review